Scotts Bluff National MonumentSide 26 af 37
What killed emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer trails
The route of the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer Trails has been called "the nation’s longest graveyard." According to this National Park Service article, nearly one in ten emigrants who set out did not survive. It lists the main causes of death from 1841 to 1869: disease, gunshot wounds, accidents, river crossings and drowning, and weather.
Graves of five unknown persons are marked along the Oregon/California Trail near Robidoux Pass. NPS photo.
Disease: the biggest killer, by far
Emigrants feared many things: lack of food or water, attacks, accidents and rattlesnake bites. But the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease, especially diseases spread by poor sanitation and personal contact. The article estimates that 6 to 10 percent of all emigrants died of some illness. Of an estimated 350,000 who started, disease may have claimed as many as 30,000, which over a 2,000-mile trail the article says would mean an average of 10 to 15 deaths per mile.
Few grave sites are marked. There was usually no time for customary burial rites, victims of epidemics and massacres were typically buried anonymously in mass graves, and single graves were often dug in the trail itself so wagons would compact the dirt. Most graves were deliberately left unmarked to protect the dead from grave robbers and vandals.
A concrete cross marks the grave of one emigrant. NPS photo.
| Illness | Notes from the article | Remedies the emigrants had |
|---|---|---|
| Cholera | Caused more illness and death than all the other maladies; a waterborne bacterium that thrives in polluted, stagnant water, attacking the intestinal lining; victims often died within 12 hours of the first symptoms | Camphor and laudanum, which eased pain and cough but did little to cure it |
| Dysentery | Common when living habits change, especially in unsanitary conditions; seldom fatal if treated but dangerous for the very young and elderly | Castor oil |
| Mountain fever | Usually not fatal; the symptoms fit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhoid fever and scarlet fever | Quinine water, for spotted fever, chills and pneumonia |
| Scurvy | From a diet lacking vitamin C | Citric acid |
| Others | Measles, food poisoning, smallpox and pneumonia | Turpentine, vinegar and whiskey for headaches, coughs and muscle aches |
Guns, accidents, weather and animals
Most emigrants began with an intense but unfounded fear of the native people, so almost every wagon was a rolling arsenal. Accidental shootings were common and murders rare. Hunting, for food and for sport, caused frequent accidents; some emigrants shot themselves through careless handling, and cheap weapons misfired or blew up.
Accidents came from negligence, exhaustion, guns, animals and weather. Wagon accidents were the most prevalent: children and adults fell off or under wagons and were crushed, or were kicked, thrown or dragged by oxen, mules or horses.
Storm clouds gather above Mitchell Pass. NPS photo.
Weather dangers included thunderstorms, lethally large hailstones, lightning, tornadoes and high winds. Prairie heat shrank wood, so wagon wheels had to be soaked in rivers at night to keep their iron rims on. Trail dust could be two or three inches deep and as fine as flour, and lips blistered and split in the dry air, with axle grease the only remedy.
Wild animals killed only occasionally, usually when someone wandered off alone. The biggest animal danger was the enormous bison herds, which sometimes overran wagon trains. Rattlesnakes were feared, but bites were less deadly than expected.
Native Americans
According to the article, American Indians were usually among the least of the emigrants’ problems. They were mostly peaceful and helped in many ways: trading fresher foods and moccasins for clothing and other goods, and, before ferries and bridges were built, ferrying wagons and people across dangerous rivers in canoes. Tales of hostile encounters far overshadowed real ones, and relations were further strained by emigrants who shot at Indians for target practice and from unfounded fear.
Sources
- National Park Service, "Death and Danger on the Emigrant Trails", part of the series The Emigrant Experience (https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/death-on-trails.htm). A watercolor painting of a bison stampede is left out; rewritten in hubnx's own words.